Cyclones in Madagascar
Cyclones only occur occasionally in Madagascar. On average, they happen about 5 times a year. The hardest hit regions are Atsimo-Andrefana, Analanjirofo and Atsimo-Atsinanana.The typical cyclone season depends on the summer monsoon. In the months before (May to June) and after (October to November), the most severe storms occur.
The most severe cyclone to make landfall in Madagascar in the past 12 months was »Emnati«. It reached a wind speed of up to 130 km/h on February 23, 2022 at 12:00 am local time near Manakara. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 1 cyclone. On the open sea, speeds of up to 213 km/h were measured (category 4).
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Current cyclone: Cheneso
On January 17, 2023 at 9:00 pm, cyclone »Cheneso« formed in the South Indian Ocean with an initial wind speed of 65 km/h. The storm system initially moved east at 19 km/h 24 km/h and reached a diameter of 74 kilometers. On January 28, 2023 at 9:00 am, it reached its highest wind speed to date of 148 kilometers per hour. This corresponds to a category 1 cyclone.On January 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm, Cheneso made landfall near the city of Ambato Boeny (Boeny) in Madagascar. At that time, the cyclone had a wind speed of 46 km/h and a diameter of 65 kilometers.
Cheneso has since subsided and is no longer under observation by the authorities. Its last position was about 390 km south of Androy on January 29th at 9:00 am.
Current satellite image of the Indian Ocean
06.02.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison
Most violent cyclones in Madagascar since 2018
Cheneso: January 17-29, 2023
Wind speed:
max. 148 km/h
on land:
max. 96 km/h
Diameter:
max. 148 km
Air pressure:
below 967 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Sava
Boeny
Sava
Boeny
Jasmine: April 24-28, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 100 km/h
Diameter:
max. 963 km
Air pressure:
below 984 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Atsimo-Andrefana
Atsimo-Atsinanana
Atsimo-Andrefana
Atsimo-Atsinanana
Gombe: March 8-14, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 183 km/h
on land:
max. 59 km/h
Diameter:
max. 111 km
Air pressure:
below 959 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Analanjirofo
Sofia
Analanjirofo
Sofia
Emnati: February 16-24, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 213 km/h
on land:
max. 130 km/h
Diameter:
max. 296 km
Air pressure:
below 941 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Vatovavy Fitovinany
Atsimo-Atsinanana
Androy
Vatovavy Fitovinany
Atsimo-Atsinanana
Androy
Dumako: February 13-16, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 94 km/h
on land:
max. 54 km/h
Diameter:
max. 93 km
Air pressure:
below 995 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Betsiboka
Betsiboka
Batsirai: January 27 to February 8, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 230 km/h
on land:
max. 183 km/h
Diameter:
max. 259 km
Air pressure:
below 932 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Vatovavy Fitovinany
Upper Matsiatra
Atsimo-Andrefana
Vatovavy Fitovinany
Upper Matsiatra
Atsimo-Andrefana
Ana: January 23-25, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 93 km/h
Diameter:
max. 148 km
Air pressure:
below 993 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Jobo: April 21-24, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 93 km
Air pressure:
below 995 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On April 21st, 2021 at 3:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 270 km north of Antsiranana in Diana.
Eloise: January 17-21, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 94 km/h
on land:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 370 km
Air pressure:
below 994 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Analanjirofo
Analanjirofo
Chalane: December 25-30, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 111 km/h
on land:
max. 65 km/h
Diameter:
max. 241 km
Air pressure:
below 990 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Analanjirofo
Alaotra Mangoro
Analamanga
Bongolava
Analanjirofo
Alaotra Mangoro
Analamanga
Bongolava
Herold: March 12-21, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 185 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Eye:
max. 111 km
Air pressure:
below 955 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On March 14th, 2020 at 9:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 70 km west of Antalaha in Sava.
Francisco: February 3-15, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 83 km/h
on land:
max. 74 km/h
Diameter:
max. 185 km
Air pressure:
below 993 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Atsinanana
Atsinanana
Diane: January 22-29, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
on land:
max. 50 km/h
Diameter:
max. 444 km
Air pressure:
below 985 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Alaotra Mangoro
Atsinanana
Alaotra Mangoro
Atsinanana
Calvinia: December 17, 2019 to January 3, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 139 km/h
Diameter:
max. 444 km
Air pressure:
below 970 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On December 25th, 2019 at 3:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 266 km west of Antsiranana in Diana.
Belna: December 2-11, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 189 km/h
Diameter:
max. 204 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 957 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Atsimo-Andrefana
Atsimo-Andrefana
Kenneth: April 21-28, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 226 km/h
Diameter:
max. 148 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 934 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On April 23rd, 2019 at 3:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 200 km north of Antsiranana in Diana.
Idai: March 4-16, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 213 km/h
Diameter:
max. 185 km
Eye:
max. 74 km
Air pressure:
below 940 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On March 13th, 2019 at 9:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 492 km east of Maintirano in Melaky.
Gelena: February 4-16, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 217 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Eye:
max. 74 km
Air pressure:
below 942 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On February 6th, 2019 at 9:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 385 km northwest of Sambava in Sava.
Eketsang: January 23-26, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 74 km/h
Diameter:
max. 219 km
Air pressure:
below 992 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On January 25th, 2019 at 3:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 180 km south of Tranovaho in Androy.
Desmond: January 17-22, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 296 km
Air pressure:
below 989 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On January 20th, 2019 at 3:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 486 km east of Toliara in Atsimo-Andrefana.
These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.
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